Mesh products made from non-resorbable fibers, such as polypropylene and polyester, are well known in the prior art, and widely used in hernia repair. Non-resorbable curved polypropylene meshes that can assume a curved shape are also now commonly used in hernia repair particularly for reinforcement of the inguinofemoral region. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,954,767, 6,368,541, 6,723,133 and 6,740,122 to Pajotin disclose curved knitted non-resorbable polypropylene meshes for repairing defects in muscle or tissue walls.
More recently, hernia repair products made from poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB) resorbable fibers have been disclosed by Martin et al. J. Surg. Res. 184:766-773 (2013), and are now used in the clinic. However, these resorbable products are either flat meshes or hernia repair plugs, and are not curved shapes that can be temporarily deformed, implanted, and released in vivo so that they conform to the anatomical shape, for example, of the inguinofemoral region.
There is thus a need to develop three-dimensional resorbable implants that can be temporarily deformed, implanted by minimally invasive methods, and that will resume their original three-dimensional shape after implantation, which also have the mechanical and physical properties suitable for use in plastic surgery and reconstruction.
It is an object of the present invention to provide resorbable three-dimensional implants that can be temporarily deformed, implanted by minimally invasive methods, and resume their original three-dimensional shape after implantation and contour to an anatomical shape.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide processes to produce resorbable three-dimensional implants that can be temporarily deformed from polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and other resorbable polymers.
It is another object of the present invention to provide resorbable three-dimensional PHA implants that can be temporarily deformed that are made from monofilament and/or multifilament fibers of 4-hydroxybutyrate monomers or other resorbable polymeric monomers.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide resorbable three-dimensional implants, that can be temporarily deformed, and that are made from P4HB monofilament and/or multifilament meshes.
It is still another object of the invention to provide resorbable three-dimensional implants for use in tissue reinforcement and hernia repair that can be temporarily deformed, implanted by minimally invasive means, and resume their original shape in vivo and are designed to contour to the patient's host tissue or an anatomical shape.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide methods to implant resorbable three-dimensional implants that can be temporarily deformed to allow for minimally invasive delivery.